Provo • When Talan Alfrey looks back at his game film from a year ago, he sees a player that perhaps was a step slow.
He didn’t think so at the time. He convinced himself he was fine. But coming off an Achilles injury in 2021, the workload of playing 505 snaps took its toll.
“I would like to think I was full go,” Alfrey said. “But I mean I probably had a slow step in me. At the moment, I was like, ‘I don’t care. I’m ready to go, let me play.’ So I was cleared and felt like I was good. Looking at the film, and comparing it to this year, I do feel like I am faster now.”
BYU will need Alfrey to take that next step this season — perhaps more than anyone thought.
When Alfrey started fall camp, the presumption was he would be a solid rotation piece in BYU’s secondary. Now with starting safety Micah Harper out for the season with an ACL injury, a heavy load will be put on the redshirt sophomore to step up. An already thin secondary will now be tested even more.
“We will see [who] can separate themselves [at safety] between now and then,” head coach Kalani Sitake said. “Really, there is not a lot of time. [Defensive coordinator] Jay Hill can probably tell you more about who he is comfortable with.”
Harper wasn’t just BYU’s best safety, he was also one of its best players. Last year, his overall defensive grade was a 77.2, according to Pro Football Focus. It put him in the top half of the Big 12 at his position and he did so while logging over 550 snaps.
He had 62 tackles and two forced fumbles. He was a top 100 safety when it came to run support, according to PFF. In short, BYU did not have a true replacement for him on this roster.
Alfrey was the next closest. He graded out as a 67.6 on Pro Football Focus, about 10 points lower. Which means BYU needs to see a healthy, better version of Alfrey immediately to pair with veteran free safety Malik Moore.
“My first step was still a little slow,” Alfrey said. “Last year it took me [a bit]. Still a little slow from my injury. Learning how to be more explosive out of the gate and getting to my full speed quicker was one thing I wanted to focus on. And I feel like I did that. Still feel like I can get faster and I will continue to get faster. But that was one of my huge focuses was getting more explosive and bouncy. Explode and change direction quicker.”
Outside of Alfrey, BYU does have other options Hill can try. Chika Ebunoha is going into his second season and brings a speed element to the secondary. He is still learning, but could help out in spots.
“Getting the playbook,” Ebunoha said of what he needs to improve. “Just learning the position at the end of the day.”
Other options at safety include Crew Wakley, Raider Damuni, Preston Rex and a series of other relatively inexperienced players. But the one player BYU definitely needs is Alfrey.
“There is a lot of talent there,” Sitake finished. “I think there are four, five guys that can replace [Harper]. It is a matter who is going to earn the one and two spots.”
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